


Non-Linear

by realgar



Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Angst with a realistic happy ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Fanart, M/M, Mentions of Mental Illness, Self-Harm, craig is supportive friend, it's not super graphic or anything but yea, some slight pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 19:14:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6766429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realgar/pseuds/realgar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Craig helps support Tweek through a difficult evening</p>
            </blockquote>





	Non-Linear

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! First work for the SP fandom, and my first real angsty piece. I probably made them ooc, so I'm sorry! But I hope that you can enjoy this anyways? 
> 
> Warning for mentioned self harm. I tried to be vague because this is a personal subject for me as well, and I wanted to focus more on the support rather than the actual act. I fear that this wound up sounding more like a freaking PSA than anything else -.- but hey whatever works!
> 
> This was inspired by this artwork by iron-dude on tumblr:  
> http://iron-dude.tumblr.com/post/141111928190/here-some-creek

Craig pushed open the door to Tweek Bros., the familiar ringing of the bell announcing his arrival to the empty shop. Craig wasn’t surprised; it was almost midnight on a Tuesday, and most of the other kids his age were usually out partying or studying in places that stayed open the entire night. 

The shop closed at midnight, with Tweek always working the closing shift, so more often than not Craig would find himself hanging around the cafe while Tweek finished up his work. Sometimes Clyde and Token would join him, sometimes Jimmy would, but most of the time it was just Craig’s thing. He liked walking in and seeing his friend’s eyes light up just a bit at the familiar face. He probably liked it a lot more than he should have, but that was neither here nor there.

Tweek was currently standing near one of the empty tables, a wash rag in one hand while the other was pressed to his heart. His eyes were wide as he stared at Craig.

“Jesus christ dude! Don’t scare me like that!” He said quickly before moving to wipe down the table a few times. Craig rolled his eyes.

“What’s up?” He greeted him, ignoring Tweek’s little outburst.

Craig went to lean against the coffee counter, his eyes wandering over the menu, even though by now Tweek has most likely cleaned all of the machines.

“J-Just another slow night.” Tweek said, flipping one of the chairs over to set on top of the table. 

Craig watched him work for a moment before he straightened, walking over to a different table and placing the chairs on top of it. 

“You don’t need to help.” Tweek mumbled, walking over to Craig as he flipped over the last chair. Craig shrugged.

“It got done faster, didn't it?”

Tweek stared up at him for a moment, shrugging as well before turning around, running a hand through his hair.

Craig leaned against the counter again, watching as Tweek went through the rest of his closing routine, wiping down the machines three more times, making sure everything was stocked for the next morning. Craig had his phone out, quietly playing some music; it was relaxing, but that could’ve just been because he was around Tweek. The guy was a chaotic mess but his presence was weirdly grounding and comfortable for Craig.

Tweek was rambling about the customers he’d had, their interactions, the things he noticed about them. Craig hummed, showing that he was listening. He didn’t really care about the old lady who put a half a jar of sugar in her tea, nor did he care about the teenagers who ordered straight black coffee, but he liked hearing Tweek’s commentary about them, he liked listening to the small things his weird mind picked up on. Tweek never talked this much around the other guys; at least, not that Craig was aware of, so he generally tried not to take it for granted.

He wondered if his crush was as obvious to Tweek as it was to everyone else. He kind of figured it wasn’t, since the guy was always so wrapped up in his own version of reality. Clyde and Token openly teased him about it whenever Tweek wasn't around, but it wasn’t a huge deal. It was the truth, so who cared, right? Craig had accepted about a year ago that he was hopelessly smitten and he was still waiting for the right moment to let Tweek know. He called himself patient and unhurried, but really he was just kind of freaked about ruining their friendship.

Tweek went to go count the money, and Craig watched as he quickly shuffled through the bills, muttering to himself as he counted before he wrote his findings down on a notepad. During his second run through, as Tweek was counting the fives, his sleeves began to ride up just a bit. Now, normally this would give Craig an opportunity to admire his slender wrists, but something caught his eye. He frowned, and without thinking, reached out to grab Tweek’s arm.

“Gah!” Tweek jerked his arm back, letting the bills scatter onto the counter. “Wh-what’re you-”

“What is that?” Craig asked curiously. “On your arm.”

Tweek stared at him with wide eyes, his mouth opening and closing as he clutched his wrist protectively against his chest.

“N-Nothing!” Tweek said, looking away as he hurriedly gathered the money again. 

Craig stared at him, watching as a blush bloomed onto his cheeks, spreading down to his neck. His eyes flickered down to his arm again, where he could just barely see a small... _something_ under the edge of his sleeve. He swallowed thickly, moving around the counter to stand next to Tweek.

“Craig-”

Craig ignored him, grabbing his arm again, albeit a little more gently this time. Tweek tried pulling away, making a noise of protest, but Craig gripped him a little tighter. He swiftly pushed the long sleeve up, revealing a series of cuts and lacerations running down the length of his forearm.

Craig blinked, resisting the urge to widen his eyes or open his mouth in shock.

Oh.

Tweek wrenched his arm out of Craig’s grasp, hastily pulling his sleeve back down. Craig looked at him, only to find that Tweek was biting his chapped lips hard, his gaze averted. He looked down again, and saw that Tweek's hands were clenched.

“Craig, I think you should g-”

“Where’s your first aid kit?” Craig interrupted Tweek’s shaky voice, keeping his own calm and neutral.

“D-Don’t, uh, listen _-ngh-_ can you just please leave?” Tweek said, his voice small. _“Please?”_

Craig stared at him; he looked pretty fucking pitiful, standing there all closed in on himself, tears in his eyes, his face red. Maybe he should just leave, that’s clearly what Tweek wanted, right? Craig set his jaw, letting out a small sigh. No, it wasn’t what Tweek wanted, and honestly it wasn’t what Craig wanted either. 

“Where’s your first aid kit?” Craig repeated, just a touch quieter.

Tweek squeezed his eyes shut, exhaling loudly. Then, eyes still closed, he pointed to the direction of the small back room.

Craig walked back there, looking around the numerous stock items, before seeing a tell tale first aid kit sitting on top of a small safe. He grabbed it and went back to Tweek, who was holding his sides, still standing in the same spot. Craig grabbed his elbow, leading him to the small couch in the main area of the cafe.

“Gimme the keys.” Craig ordered, holding out his hand. Tweek still wouldn’t look at him, instead just reaching into his apron pocket and handing Craig the store keys. 

Craig quickly crossed the store, locking the doors up and dimming the lights. It was past midnight anyways, so thankfully they shouldn’t be interrupted. When he went back to join Tweek on the couch, he opened up the kit.

“Give me your arm.”

Tweek wordlessly held his arm out, and Craig could see him trembling. He gently pushed Tweek's arm so that it was laying across his lap, and under the bright lights, he could see the damage Tweek had done.

All of the wounds looked about the same age, relatively new, actually. This didn’t surprise Craig, since he usually paid enough attention to Tweek to notice that something was amiss. They must’ve happened only in the past day or two.

He grabbed some cotton balls and peroxide, glancing up at Tweek, who was staring at his lap. His cheeks were wet. Craig sighed.

“This might hurt.” He said, lightly dabbing the affected areas. He could feel Tweek tense up for a brief second, and he thoughtlessly stroked his thumb along the side of Tweek’s forearm, trying to soothe him. Tweek relaxed, just a bit.

He worked in silence for a moment, his eyes moving between the task at hand and Tweek himself. He still wouldn’t look at Craig.

“When did this happen?” Craig asked, ignoring the way Tweek cringed.

“U-Um- today.” Tweek said quietly. Craig nodded, grabbing some Neosporin. Tweek had been quiet today in both the group chat and their private messages. This explained it.

“Does it help?” He asked, smoothing the ointment across his skin. He paused, looking up at Tweek, who was now watching Craig work.

“Only for a second.” Tweek murmured, his pale green eyes emotionless. “And then…I feel worse.”

Craig grabbed some bandages, gently applying them to the affected spots.

“This should help them heal faster, anyways.” Craig murmured, smoothing the last bandage over before pulling the sleeve down again. He continued to hold his arm, and looked up at him.

“I’m sorry.” Tweek said, his voice breaking. And then his eyes screwed up, tears spilling out. “I’m really sorry.”

Craig immediately slid his hand up to meet Tweek’s, lacing their fingers together.

“Why?” He asked, wondering if he was missing something.

“Y-You think I’m a freak, you think I’m crazy, don’t you?” Tweek said instead, trying to pull his hand away.

Craig frowned at him. To be fair, he always thought Tweek was crazy, but that was just who Tweek _was_. He figured it might not help the situation to bring that up, though.

“I-I’m supposed to be getting better.” Tweek insisted, now gripping Craig’s hand, using his other to wipe his face. “I don’t know why I _-ngh-_ I’m so stupid!”

He raised a hand to grip at his blonde locks, and Craig quickly grabbed it with his free hand, holding it as well.

“Nah, you’re not stupid.” Craig said, running his thumbs across the tops of Tweek’s hands. “Shit happens, you know?”

“I s-should be better than this. I _am_ better than this, I-”

“I know.”

Tweek was quiet for a moment, looking at their hands.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled again.

“Stop saying that.” Craig said. Tweek glanced at him.

“Why?”

“Because you’ve got nothing to be sorry for.” Craig said, shrugging. “Fuck, _I_ should be the one apologizing here.”

“Why?” Tweek repeated himself, frowning.

“Because I-” Craig cut himself off, looking down at their hands as well. “I should’ve noticed something was up.”

“It’s not y-your responsibility, Craig.” Tweek said quietly.

Craig looked up at him.

“Why can’t it be, though?” He asked, genuinely curious.

Tweek gave him a small, sad smile, shaking his head.

“It’s n-not your responsibility.” He said again. “It’s my responsibility to take care of myself. And I _can_ , I just-”

Tweek sighed, looking pained and ashamed again.

“I fucked up. I fuck up sometimes.” He said, averting his eyes.

Craig nodded.

“We all fuck up sometimes, Tweek.” He said with a shrug. “Besides, don’t they say that recovery isn’t linear or something?”

Tweek looked up at him in surprise, blinking. Then he smiled slightly again, genuinely this time.

“Yeah, something like that.”

Craig nodded again.

“How about this…” He began, sitting up a little straighter. “I know you can take care of yourself, and I’m not trying to, like, take on your issues or anything but…”

Tweek nodded, sniffling a little.

“How about the next time you feel like this, you can give me a text or a call.” Craig suggested. “We don’t have to talk about it, but maybe it’d help. To have a distraction.”

“You don’t have to do that…” Tweek mumbled, looking embarrassed again. “I don’t -ngh- want to use you as some kind of a-a, I don’t know-”

“Crutch?” Craig supplied. Tweek nodded. “You won’t. I’m a support system. It’s different.”

Tweek looked at him again, frowning this time.

“How d-do you know so much about this?” He asked nervously.

Craig shrugged, feeling a little uncharacteristically embarrassed. Truth be told, he’d looked all that stuff up when Tweek had confided in him that he’d been diagnosed with mood and anxiety disorders. However, he felt like that might be a little too revealing at the present moment.

“The internet?” He said, hoping that Tweek wouldn’t ask any further.

Tweek stared at him, his cheeks pink. Craig wanted to kiss them.

“Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense…” Tweek nodded, looking lost in thought.

It was quiet for a few moments, and Craig realized they were still holding hands. It was nice. The situation that had led to it wasn’t, but the resulting affection was.

“Hey, you wanna finish up here and go to my place? Watch a movie or something?” Craig asked, unconsciously tightening his hold on Tweek’s hands.

Tweek turned to look at him, almost as if he’d forgotten Craig was there. Then he gave him a small, cautious smile. 

“S-Sure, Craig.” He said.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it, I hope it wasn't too too graphic or too ooc and yeah! I'm planning on writing a fluffier creek au eventually, just trying to decide which au to go with!


End file.
